Distance runner Salazar released from hospital

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A week after suffering a heart attack, distance running legend Alberto Salazar was released from the hospital Saturday.

Officials at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center said they couldn't provide details of Salazar's departure or say anything about his condition.

Salazar, 48, collapsed while coaching distance runners at the Nike campus outside Portland.

Doctors inserted a stent and determined that he had suffered a heart attack.

Some of his athletes said he was coaching from his hospital bed.

"He's not relinquished any of his coaching," said Kara Goucher, who placed second in the 10,000 meters last month at the USA Track & Field Championships.

"He's doing great," she told The Oregonian newspaper for a story that appeared Saturday. "It's made it easier on us that he's doing so well. We were a little nervous, but he's bounced right back. That's a testament to him."

Salazar is a University of Oregon graduate who won the New York City Marathon three straight years (1980-82) and the 1982 Boston Marathon. He has set six U.S. records and one world record. He is a longtime Nike employee and consultant who trains elite distance runners. A building on the campus is named for him.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)